Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
Inroduction
About this Recipe
By: Sheridan Rogers
This typical, very tasty, Neapolitan pasta translates as “whore’s spaghetti” – but to understand how it got its name would take a lengthy explanation! One thing is for certain: all the ingredients are found in most Italian pantries. You can double the amount of anchovies, if liked.
Ingredients
- spaghetti or spaghettoni 500g
- extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons
- garlic 3 cloves, finely chopped
- anchovy fillets 4, chopped (or more, if liked)
- red chilli 1, chopped (with seeds)
- diced Roma tomatoes 1 x 400g tin
- stoned black olives 100g (3/4 cup)
- capers 3 tablespoons, rinsed
- freshly ground black pepper
- Italian flat leaf parsley freshly chopped
- lemon zest optional
- freshly grated parmesan
In a frying pan, heat the oil, add the garlic and anchovies and cook until anchovies have melted, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, olives and capers and season with pepper – taste for salt, but go lightly because the olives, anchovies and capers are all salty. Leave to simmer for 10 – 15 minutes. Cook the pasta in a large pot of rapidly boiling salted water until ‘al dente’. Drain well, reserving a little of the pasta cooking water (about 1/3 cup) – add this to the ‘puttanesca’ sauce. Toss sauce evenly through the pasta and serve immediately garnished with the parsley and lemon zest. Freshly grated parmesan is optional.